The hugely-popular Bolton Food & Drink Festival is finally returning next month after a year of postponement.
After COVID-19 restrictions sadly meant that the annual festival had to move online in 2020, the support of local businesses of all shapes and sizes is helping the North West’s biggest food and drink event to return in person for its 16th year this summer.
They’ll serve up some of the best food and drink the region has to offer.
World-renowned chefs will share their secrets during free cookery demonstrations, and a collection of outdoor bars, live music and street entertainment is set to create the usual festival atmosphere that draws visitors from far and wide.
Bolton Food and Drink Festival will return to the town centre this August Bank Holiday weekend!
🍔All your favourite food stalls 🎸Live music and entertainment 👨🍳 The North West’s best chefs
Over the course of the four-day festival – which is designed to be COVID-secure with a thorough risk assessment in place- families will be able to enjoy a wide range of activities.
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Visitors can also relax in the new picnic zone in the nearby Queens Park.
Speaking ahead of the festival’s return next month, Cllr Hilary Fairclough – Cabinet Member with responsibility for markets at Bolton Council – said: “We are hugely grateful to all our sponsors whose backing will help make this year’s Bolton Food and Drink Festival a memorable weekend for everyone [as] we want to bring more people back into Bolton and create a vibrant town centre.
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“Festivals like this are a key part of doing that.
“It’s great to have so many businesses back an event that will give a real boost to the local economy.”
This year’s supporters include supermarket retailer Aldi, the Bolton-founded nation’s favourite baker Warburtons, town centre destination the Market Place Shopping Centre, Bolton’s beloved Carrs Pasties, and newly-promoted Bolton Wanderers FC.
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The North West’s biggest food and drink event is returning for its 16th year / Credit: Bolton Food FestWorld-renowned chefs will share their secrets during free cookery demonstrations at the popular four-day festival / Credit: Twitter (@BoltonFoodFest)
As well as a number of other COVID-safety restrictions that are set to be put in place, some changes to the usual programme have also been made in order to keep everyone safe, and all stalls and performance areas will be spaced out to help with social distancing.
Sadly, the popular ticketed celebrity chef events in the main marquee will not take place in the way visitors will remember from previous years – but they are to return in 2022.
Bolton Food & Drink Festival 2021 will take place on Friday 27 – Monday 30 August.
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StreamGM and The Manc have teamed up show some some serious love and support to the region’s renowned theatres, nightclubs, and live-music venues with the launch of SeeGM – a digital campaign to shine a bright spotlight on many of the amazing events, club nights, gigs and shows in our region.
Viral chicken shop Wingstop is opening inside the Manchester Arndale
Daisy Jackson
Wingstop, the chicken shop famed for its vast range of wing flavours and sauces, is opening another spot in Manchester city centre.
The brand will be taking over the old Yo Sushi site in the Manchester Arndale, which shut down just last month.
It’ll mean there’ll be two Wingstop locations within a few minutes’ walk of each other, with another takeaway already well-established on Piccadilly Gardens.
Wingstop UKI has found viral fame with people taste-testing its wide range of hand-sauced chicken wing flavours, ranging from garlic parmesan all the way up to the eye-watering ‘Atomic’.
As well as chicken wings, it serves delicious tenders and burgers, all cooked to order.
There are also a range of sides, including loaded fries, sweet potato fries, and cajun fried corn, plus dips like ranch, honey mustard, and blue cheese.
Wingstop is also famed for its thick milkshakes – which are a necessity if you order your chicken down the spicier end of the scale.
Established in Texas in 1994, Wingstop rose rapidly to become one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the US.
The brand launched in the UK market in 2018, and into Ireland last year, and now operates more than 85 locations.
Wingstop is opening in Manchester Arndale
Wingstop will be moving into the 5,928 sq ft unit upstairs in Manchester Arndale, just opposite Next.
Scott Linard, Portfolio Manager for M&G Real Estate, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Wingstop to our vibrant F&B offer; an addition we’re sure will resonate with our younger visitors.
“With the additions of popular restaurant chains like Wingstop, coupled with the arrival of new retailers such as Arc’teryx, Alo Yoga, Pro:Direct and Sephora, we are strategically creating a destination where people across the North West and beyond want to spend their time.”
Steve Gray, Head of European Retail Asset Management at Global Mutual, said: “Wingstop will join Manchester Arndale’s varied F&B mix, including Popeyes, Sides, Hotel Chocolat, Joe & The Juice and Café Nero.
“In-demand operators like this help create energy and momentum that allows the brands across the scheme to thrive, driving increased footfall, longer dwell times and a more compelling offer for visitors.”
The best cheese tasting party in the North is BACK at a new Manchester venue
Danny Jones
That’s right, one of the biggest and best cheese tasting nights in the entire land is returning to Greater Manchester at a brand new city centre venue.
Not to be over-the-top, but this isn’t just another experience sampling possibly the greatest foodstuff on Earth, it’s a fully-fledged cheese-lovers’ party.
Some of you may have come across Homage2Fromage before, but for anyone unaware of the Yorkshire-born event, it started out as a monthly cheese tasting club and went on to expand across the dairy-adoring North at large.
Relaunching here in Manchester for 2026, all you lactose-intolerant people better watch, because Home2Fromage is coming back with a vengeance and heading to the Northern Quarter. Here’s how it went down the last time we visited one in Leeds:
Leeds, Sheffield, Harrogate, Manchester and who knows where else next.
Posting up in a relatively recent addition to NQ‘s bar and restaurant scene, The Faraday – a pub on Lever St that replaces the old Seven Sins back in October – it looks set to be an ideal venue for the regular evening series.
Homage2Fromage will be making its Manc return this month, and better still, they’re holding a cheeky little giveaway to sweeten the pot.
As in the deal, we mean – not the inevitable bowls full of olives, chutney, oil and various other dips…
To welcome this celebration of all things cheese coming back to Manchester city centre, they’re giving away a bunch of free tickets: 20 pairs in total.
Worth over £50 a piece for each twin set of tickets, you’d be a fool not to at least throw your hat in the ring for this one.
As you can see, the competition closes this Thursday, 19 February, ahead of the full relaunch party next week (Wed, 25 Feb), and all you have to do to enter is fill out this super quick survey.
It really is as simple as that; a few quick words are all that stand between you and a potential mountain of cheese and more.
You can find all you need to know about the event right HERE, and in case you haven’t popped into The Faraday just yet, see more down below.
It’s still somewhat early days, but we can see ourselves spending a fair bit of time in this up-and-coming Manchester watering hole, especially when there’s cheese nights involved.
Emily Sergeant -
27th July 2021 
